


Eye H8 U (I Love You)

by Lethal_Interjection



Series: Everybody Loves Tony [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, POV Steve Rogers, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Steve Rogers Feels, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Wakanda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 19:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15803490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lethal_Interjection/pseuds/Lethal_Interjection
Summary: Tony is back on Earth, specifically Wakanda, and Steve is ready to do what he should've done a long time ago.





	Eye H8 U (I Love You)

Steve walked, as casually as he could muster, by Shuri’s lab for the 5th or 6th time. He was a nervous wreck. Almost three hours ago, Bruce told him that Tony had arrived with some blue alien girl in tow. In that instant, he felt both unbridled glee and encumbering dread. Tony was alive, and that was a great relief, but Tony was here, which meant a talk was inevitable. 

Since he had never received a reply to his letter, he assumed Tony did not accept the apology. Even he could now admit that apology was lackluster, to say the least, but Tony was here now and he could—would apologize in person. He would apologize over and over again until Tony accepted it. Yeah, great plan, right?

Steve could barely see through the frosted glass that Tony was sitting on an exam table with Jim on one side and Shuri on the other. They were talking about Tony’s injuries. Gotta love that enhanced hearing. Tony had been stabbed among other things, but Shuri already had him on the road to recovery. He couldn’t really understand the sciencey medical jargon they used, but Tony was sitting up with his legs dangling from the table, he wasn’t laying down and he wasn’t unconscious so that had to be a good sign. 

He hastily straightened up and pretended to fix his clothes when a guard walked by, looking at him suspiciously. The distraction caused him to miss Jim’s exit from the lab. When he turned around, Tony’s best friend was staring at him with crossed arms and a raised brow.

“Hey, Jim. I uh—I was just hoping to—”

“Nope,” the Colonel cut him off with a raised hand.

“Did you ask him? I mean, Tony is stronger than you give him credit for,” Steve contended. “I—I just want to say sorry, Jim, that’s all.”

That earned him an exasperated sigh from James Rhodes, which Steve was certain was the only kind of sigh he’d ever heard from the man. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose before speaking again.

“Rogers, I swear to Thor, this better not turn into a screaming match. The man has a hole in his abdomen the size of Delaware,” Jim warned.

“No yelling, I promise. If he starts yelling, I’ll just leave,” he pleaded.

Jim turned towards the lab doors and they opened automatically. He walked a few steps ahead, likely to talk to Tony first, before dropping Steve on him like a ton of bricks. They turned the corner and there he was, Tony Stark. He looked so small sitting there. Tired, weak, and hurting, but still smiling. He was covered in scratches and bruises and his torso was bandaged all around. He was so distracted by whatever conversation he was having with Shuri, he didn’t see the Steve standing less than 20 feet away. 

Steve could hear his heart beating in his ears as Jim walked over to Tony to grab his attention. Everything was suddenly in moving in slow motion. Tony’s head turned to him and that bright smile morphed into a look of disbelief, and then rage. 

Tony’s chest was moving up and down quickly, his nostrils flared and his angry dark eyes burned into Steve’s hopeful blue ones. He just stared for a moment, but he didn’t speak a word.

“Should we um--?” Shuri said to Jim. Tilting her head to the door in an attempt to flee her own laboratory. 

“Yeah, we’re gonna give you two a minute,” Jim said slowly as he walked backward behind Shuri who was already halfway out the door. 

Neither man acknowledged their exit. They kept their gaze locked squarely on one another, neither one refraining. 

Steve was terrified, but he would not leave. He had to do this, he had to give the man a real apology. Even if Tony hated him for the rest of his life, he still owed him that.

“I—I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’re ok, Tony,” Steve said as he stepped toward the exam table.

Tony said nothing.

“We all thought you were gone. Well Thor didn’t, he said ‘If anyone could survive Thanos—’” Steve’s voice trailed off when he noticed Tony’s expression had not changed in the least. 

“What the fuck do you want, Rogers?” Tony spat. His voice echoed in the sterile room.

“Tony, I know you hate me, but—“

“Hate you? Hate you!? No! How could anyone hate such a great, virtuous, pillar of morality such as yourself, Steven Grant Rogers?” Said Tony venomously. “Why ever would I hate you?”

“Tony,” Steve said softly as he continued forward.

“Don’t come a step closer, Rogers. Not a single fucking step!” Tony shouted. 

“Please, Tony,” Steve pleaded, moving closer against the man’s wishes.

“Get away from me, Rogers. Go be with your Bucky and leave me the fuck alone.”

“Bucky is gone with the snap,” Steve said sadly, dropping his head. “Besides, Bucky and I never—" 

“Oh, I see. Is that why you’re here? He’s been dusted so now you think you can just weasel your way back into my life? Into my—” Tony’s voice cracked and tears began to well up in his eyes. “Into my heart,” he added as the tears fell.

Steve felt a surge of remorse and an even bigger surge of longing. Longing to hold Tony and rock him until he stopped crying like he used to. It hurt so much, Steve was crying now. He could barely control his sobs as he moved ever closer.

“You don’t get to fucking cry, Steve. You don’t get to be hurt. You hurt me more than Barnes ever could. You laid in my bed every night and told me you loved me while keeping this horrible fucking secret for years. Years, Steven!” Tony sobbed. “For what? For him?” 

Steve’s breathing hitched as he finally stood in front of his confronter. “Tony, I’m—“

“Was he worth losing me, nearly killing me?” Tony yelled. “Breaking my fucking heart? Huh? Was he!?”

Steve opened his mouth to speak again but it was abruptly slapped shut. Tony had probably used all his strength to connect that slap. It burned, but it was better than he deserved. Steve just looked at down the floor, letting his tears fall. Seconds later, another slap came, then another, then another. 

“Look at me!” Tony demanded and Steve’s tear-soaked face snapped up. “This is your fault. Had you not chosen Bucky over the team we would have been together and we would have stood a chance.”

“I know,” Steve croaked.

Tony was silent at that. He’d expected more of that patented Captain America stubbornness. 

“I know, I should have told you after D.C. I should have given you the time to work through it. I made a mistake. I just panicked and lied and it forced me to lie more and more and—Bucky is all I have left from my old life and I was so desperate to hold onto that, but… We should have never fought, never left you there. I’m sorry, Tony, I’m so sorry. You have no idea how much you mean to me.”

That made Tony sob even harder. He was getting into ugly-cry territory. 

Against his better judgment, Steve slid between Tony’s legs and embraced him, pulling the billionaire’s head to his chest tightly, stroking his hair.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered over and over as they both cried there in the lab.

“I loved you so much,” Tony murmured after a few minutes.

Steve pulled away and cupped Tony’s face in both hands. “Loved?” he asked with a forlorn hopefulness.

“Hard E-D,” Tony said with a smirk.

“I’m sorry about the letter, that was a horrible apology,” said Steve, moving his hands to Tony’s waist. 

“No argument there, Spangles.”

“I guess that’s the end for us then?” Steve asked, implicitly.

Tony looked down at Steve’s hands on his hips, then back up at Steve’s face.

“Not necessarily,” Tony drawled. “We always did have some earth-shattering hate sex.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little one-shot to keep me distracted from working on my other fics. 
> 
> I know, I know, I'm terrible...


End file.
